AutoIndustriya Editors’ Picks and Car of the Year 2025
Which vehicles made the cut as our standout performers of 2025?
Busy is an understatement if we talk about how the year 2025 turned out for the automotive industry.
As new players try to shake up and change customers’ expectations when it comes to value proposition and list of features, established brands have also responded to the challenge by coming up with their own exciting vehicles. This made up such a competitive market where buyers are spoiled with plenty of choices for their mobility needs, from internal combustion engined cars, to electrified vehicles such as hybrids and PHEVs, right down to battery electric vehicles.
For us at Autoindustriya.com, we had our hands full the whole year in trying to see which among the hundreds of new vehicles launched in the market have hit or surpassed expectations in their own respective segments for this year’s Editors’ Picks and Car of the Year awards.
As always, we're not doing the minicompact, compact, or SUV categories. Rather, the basis for our selection is on a vehicle's intended purpose. That means a smaller SUV can compete against a larger SUV if we feel there is merit, or a fun affordable hatchback can compete against a proper sportscar. This is to keep things fresh and interesting, and candidates and winners for Editors’ Picks and Car of the Year should include vehicles that were either launched, driven, or reviewed by the editorial team of Autoindustriya.com in 2025.
As Your First Car
As inflation and other external factors drive up vehicle prices year after year, lesser cars are there to choose from when you have less than PHP 1 million for a brand new vehicle. But still, in this price range, there are some gems that could really make your hard-earned money’s worth.
As Your First Car Winner: BYD Seal 5
Finalists: Toyota Ativ / Chery Tiggo Cross / MG ZS
Chery and MG have managed to offer B-segment crossovers for under PHP 1 million with the non-hybrid Tiggo Cross and the new ZS in the base Comfort CVT variant, making their vehicles an attractive buy for those who need the ground clearance and some decent creature comforts inside.
The all-new Ativ in its 1.3-liter manual and CVT variants have also made the list, which is perfect for those who want the well-known reliability of a Vios but on a newer, larger, and more comfortable-riding platform.
However, it’s the BYD Seal 5 that’s the runaway winner for the “As Your First Car” category. With electrification increasingly becoming popular in the Philippine market, the Seal 5 takes it home as it is the only plug-in hybrid vehicle among the finalists, and costs under PHP 1 million.
Likewise, its decent list of standard features, and a larger size for its price range makes it very well worth considering for those looking for a first car.
For the Family
Filipino buyers love to bring everyone along for the ride, which is why family vehicles are very popular. From small MPVs to truck-based SUVs, and even minivans, any and every model launched in the country with 7 seats (or more) will surely find itself a nice place in the buyers’ market, whatever the price tag may be.
For The Family Winner: Chery Tiggo rEV
Finalists: Kia Carnival HEV / Mitsubishi Destinator / Hyundai Stargazer / BYD eMAX 9
For those looking for an electrified executive transport with luxurious amenities, BYD and Kia came up this year with the eMAX 9 and the Carnival HEV. But at prices fetching over PHP 2.5 million for both models, not a lot would be able to experience its first class comfort.
The Hyundai Stargazer has gone through a model refresh, and families would appreciate the new additions to its features which only adds up to its attractive value proposition. The Mitsubishi Destinator also comes as a turbocharged 7-seater being offered in a wide price point, but the clear winner this time comes from Chery with the Tiggo rEV.
Last year, we awarded the BYD Sealion 6 as our Car of the Year. The Tiggo rEV, on the other hand, is simply better priced, better equipped, and comes with two extra seats. Based on our time with the PHEV SUV, the fundamentals are there: feels well built, drives good, rides comfortably, and there’s a generous list on its tech package.
Most importantly, aftersales is where Chery PH is doing well. Should they keep up the same standard, a lot of 7-seat buyers will definitely consider the Tiggo rEV with its PHP 1.528 million starting price, and the Chery brand altogether.
Electrified Drive
Electrified vehicles made up the majority of new vehicle launches, and it’s where we spent most of the year experiencing all kinds of these HEVs, PHEVs, REEVs, and BEVs. That being the case, we’re once again splitting the electrified drive category to three – one for hybrid, one for BEV, and one for the premium segment.
Electrified Drive – Hybrid Winner: Jetour T1 Lightning
Finalists: Hyundai Kona HEV / BYD Sealion 5 / Ford Territory Hybrid
Ford stepped up to the challenge in bringing a hybrid Territory to the Philippine market. Considering the ICE Territory had some things to improve on when it comes to powertrain refinement, the hybrid Territory has smoothened those out in that aspect, along with delivering much improved fuel economy, as expected.
The BYD Sealion 5, on the other hand, is a crossover that we view is a Lite version of the Sealion 6. Still impressive in terms of range and its list of features, but the fact that we experienced it in a bigger car last year was what kept it from taking the win.
On the other hand, the Hyundai Kona is a surprise contender in the Electrified Drive – Hybrid category. Its fuel efficiency is excellent, provides more than decent comfort for its passengers, a healthy list of standard safety features, and competitive pricing despite being sourced straight out of Korea. However, the wow factor that decided it all came from Jetour with the T1 Lightning.
It’s a handsome crossover SUV that stands out on curb appeal. It’s very spacious inside, but also drives well in the city and on the highway. In terms of range, it provides good range from its battery. But the best part? The premium feel which is unexpected. We expect china cars to be of lower quality, but that’s changing. This is proof of that.
Electrified Drive – BEV Winner: Kia EV5
Finalists: Geely EX5 / Lynk & Co 02
Surprisingly, not a lot of BEVs were launched in the year 2025, which left us with models like the Geely EX5 and the Lynk & Co 02, which basically come from the same Geely group. The 02 is for those who like edgy styling for an EV, while the EX5 is for those who like the classic crossover look but with a sealed-off front grille. As interesting as the two may be, the yet-to-be-launched EV5 takes the W in this category.
The EV5 has all the hallmarks of a Kia – the style, the quality, the perceived build quality when you’re behind the wheel, and the EV performance is also what you would expect from the versatile E-GMP platform of Kia and Hyundai - nice and torquey, fun, and with long range.
Kia PH is yet to give prices on the EV5 despite already showcasing it in their mall tours, but they’re aiming at taking market share from Tesla, or at least that’s the indicator that we’re getting.
Electrified Drive – Premium Winner: Lexus LM
Finalists: Aito M9 / Zeekr 009 / BMW X3 30e xDrive / Porsche Macan EV
In the premium segment, we got to experience a nice list of EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs. Those include the high-tech Aito M9, the Zeekr 009 EV MPV, the plug-in hybrid BMW X3 30e xDrive, and the Porsche Macan EV. Each have their own strengths, but in the premium segment, we look at the vehicle that made zero compromises in delivering what’s expected. And for that, our winner is the LM from Lexus.
The LM stands out because it is something we see as a pure and traditional Lexus. That means the refinement is on a different level, the comfort is top notch, and anything you can think of to make the experience better has already been thought of. In this class of vehicle, that’s exactly what you want and Lexus has delivered. It’s simply an exceptional limousine in the 4-seater version, or a more practical one in the 7.
And oh, before we forget. While most in this segment wouldn’t really mind filling up for gas every so often, the LM is a self-charging hybrid.
Driven To Thrill
Formerly known as Smiles Per Gallon, this award belongs to the vehicles that gave us plenty of excitement behind the wheel. Whether battery electric, hybrid, or a pure ICE vehicle, the most important thing for us here is that we had a blast driving these vehicles.
Driven to Thrill Winner: Toyota GR Corolla
Finalists: Nissan Z NISMO / Ford Mustang Mach-E
In a fairly uncommon drive in Australia, we had the chance to try out the Mustang Mach-E on country roads and twisties where we had a lot of fun with it. This reminded us that Ford can create a Mustang that does not give the person behind the wheel a daunting task of driving it. The rest of us can’t wait to try it out on roads that are more familiar in the Philippines. Yes it's enjoyable, but it's not really a sportscar.
The Nissan Z NISMO, on the other hand, turned the wick up to 11 and showed us what the Z can do with track-tuned suspension, more power, and stickier tires. But for our winner, it was the cherry on top of an otherwise “hybrid everything” 2025.
Our Driven To Thrill Winner is the Toyota GR Corolla, which basically gives you the things you would enjoy in a GR Yaris – AWD, Turbo, manual transmission, but with seating for five and a bigger boot. Likewise, it’s our choice as going in and out of a GR Corolla won’t be as challenging as doing ingress and engress in a sports car like the Z NISMO when you’re driving it everyday, and it’s easier to justify the purchase to your spouse with the GR Corolla’s more “sleeper” demeanor (*wink wink*).
Weekend Warrior
This is what’s formerly known as the Adventure Vehicle award, as we recognize the vehicles capable of bringing you work on the weekdays, and do its duty as a proper car for an adventure on the weekends. We look at things like its capability in going through rough terrain, its cargo carrying capacity, and generally its appeal for being that all-rounder for an adventurous type of buyer.
Weekend Warrior Winner: Subaru Forester e-Boxer Hybrid
Finalists: Nissan Patrol / BYD Shark 6 / GWM Cannon
The BYD Shark 6 is nice as a truck with its PHEV powertrain basically providing power for your camp with its V2L function. It would also be the largest vehicle in this category, but some would find it big and there are questions about its true 4x4 capability.
On the other hand, the Patrol’s 4x4 capability is proven, and it has a lot of neat features inside. However, the price tag makes it very much a luxury vehicle already -yet somehow a bit bouncy-. They need a more adventure spec with standard suspension. Lastly, the GWM Cannon is a rough-and-tumble pickup truck that’s now equipped with a larger and more powerful engine. But when you look for comfort for daily driving, well you might find yourself looking elsewhere.
That’s where the Subaru Forester e-Boxer Hybrid breaks through and takes our Weekend Warrior trophy. It has all the hallmarks of a Subaru – all-wheel-drive, good handling, the smooth ride of a low cg boxer crossover, the X-mode can do light trails, and it has exceptional roominess inside with its generous headroom. The new hybrid powertrain has also taken away what you won’t enjoy before in a Subaru, which is fuel efficiency.
The Forester e-Boxer hybrid is simply giving a great balance of performance, efficiency, AWD capability, and the ease of use on a daily basis, so you can do adventures when you want, and wherever you want.
Car of the Year
2025 gave us a great list of vehicles to choose from, and definitely a lot have surprised us in performance, value, and basically any metric you could think of when evaluating a car that fits your needs. The BYD Sealion 6 took it last year because its PHEV technology was offered at an attainable price point, along with a generous feature list that easily surpasses expectations.
But that’s the beauty of it – when one sets the tone this year, everyone tries to do one better on the next. Quite simply, a lot have managed to do so with our 2025 Car of the Year.
Car of the Year: Mitsubishi Destinator
Finalists: Jetour T1 Lightning / BYD Seal 5 / Chery Tiggo rEV / Subaru Forester e-Boxer Hybrid
The Jetour T1 certainly surprised us; Vince in particular. The Tiggo rEV was also surprising, and was made by other foreign outlets as their car of the year. The Forester e-Boxer Hybrid we feel is also great, and so does Japan: they made it their car of the year. The Seal 5 was almost going to be a shoe in, as it’s really hard to find a PHEV for under PHP 1 million pesos. However, value packed as it may be, the Seal 5 doesn’t exactly scratch our itch. Which means while it’s impressive, it was not something that really excited us and won us over.
But our car of the year has to be the Mitsubishi Destinator.
Now most of you might be wondering: wait, it didn’t win a category and it’s not a hybrid in a year of hybrids. Well here’s our hot take: the Destinator wins because it’s what we have needed from Mitsubishi for a long time: an exciting, all-new model that feels like a Mitsubishi of old.
What do we mean by that? The Destinator is a model that could frankly (almost) qualify for many of the categories we look at - like first car with the GLX at just under PHP 1.3M introductory, as a family car with its spacious seven seat layout with easy entry and exit via the second row, and even as a fun and exciting drive thanks to its peppy turbo gas engine and really enjoyable handling. Yes, this is a fun crossover especially with the Active Yaw Control - Mitsubishi speak for torque vectoring via braking.
Then we also look at other things that people look for in a daily vehicle like versatility, ground clearance, fuel efficiency, tech toys, and a really cool A/C even for the third row passengers. The Destinator delivers in these aspects and does all this with a good price range, especially the introductory price.
Is it not going to win over everyone? No. It’s not a hybrid, so it will be subject to coding and won’t be as efficient. But we have always said that internal combustion definitely has a place in our market, and what Mitsubishi is offering with the Destinator is what we’ve been waiting for: a well built, enjoyable vehicle that really does live up to the “Spirit of Competition”, and it just so happens to be a modern seven seater the family can enjoy.
Now, if they can only come up with a new Lancer Evo, we will gladly make that our car of the year too. We’re just kidding, but it’s great to see Mitsubishi get their mojo back and for that, we choose the Destinator as our Editors’ Picks Car of the Year for 2025.
